


Bonding Time

by magisterpavus



Series: How To Train Your Galra [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anal, Biting, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Forced Bonding, Galra Keith (Voltron), Knotting, M/M, Marathon Sex, Masturbation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mildly Dubious Consent, Miscommunication, Oral Sex, Pheromones, Porn with Feelings, Praise Kink, Riding, Sex Pollen, help me, i literally researched bat sex for this fic, i swear to god im not a furry, it cannot be unseen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 05:34:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7672060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magisterpavus/pseuds/magisterpavus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Shiro, I fucked up,” Keith blurted, wringing his hands. </p><p>Shiro paused mid-punch, shooting him a quizzical look. “What? What happened?”</p><p>“I think,” Keith whispered, “I think I accidentally roofied Lance. With my dick.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bonding Time

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to write marathon sex and nothing prepared me for how LONG the damn thing was gonna be (that's what lance said), but hey, enjoy my first ever Klance fic. These boys are the worst, am I right? (for reference, Keith is 19 and Lance is 18.)
> 
> also, yes, i did unfortunately research bat sex (bc Galras are basically bat-cats??). all i can tell u is that apparently 35% of male bats are bi. the more u know!
> 
> on that note, find me & more klance on tumblr @saltyshiro ~

So, the whole “Keith is half-Galra” thing was kinda weird at first, but now it’s almost normal.

Almost. 

When the transformation happened, back on Allura’s ship after Keith had been hit by some crazy Galra Priest’s lightning spell and doused in quintessence, it had been a shock to everyone, especially Keith. Everyone had different reactions – Hunk couldn’t believe it, Pidge was speechless for once, Allura almost fainted, Coran shrieked, and Shiro activated his hand. Lance would never forget the look on Keith’s face when Shiro had aimed his glowing palm at Keith, trembling and demanding in a broken cry to know what was going on, where’s Keith, _what have you done with Keith?!_

Keith hadn’t answered. He hadn’t been able to. He’d just…cowered; that was the only word for it. Lance had never seen a _scared_ Galra before, but it was a pitiful sight – huge fluffy ears pinned back and drooping, yellow eyes wide and pleading, entire body curled into the smallest space possible. Before that, Lance hadn’t been sure what to think – but in that moment he knew Keith was still Keith, even if he was way purpler than before. 

The hug had been impulsive but Lance didn’t regret it one bit. Keith had stiffened in his arms, obviously startled and confused, but Lance just kept hugging him, and eventually so did everyone else, all while Keith tried desperately not to cry in front of them. Lance was admittedly worried that Shiro would freak out again, but instead he’d stared at Keith with eyes full of remorse and wrapped him up in an embrace that actually did make Keith cry. (Lance decided not to give him too much shit for that.)

“We’re here for you,” Shiro had said. “No matter what. Alright?”

“Alright,” Keith had whispered, in the tiniest voice Lance had ever heard.

Since that soap opera episode, everyone started getting used to seeing a Galra aboard the ship. Keith wasn’t always a Galra, which helped – as time passed he started to get better at controlling the transformation, or whatever. Pidge and Coran had run some tests and it all sounded complicated as fuck, but Lance liked to think of it like a werewolf, phases of the moon, all that. 

Sometimes Keith had cute bat ears; sometimes they were just a little pointy like Allura’s. Sometimes he was a lovely shade of lavender all over; sometimes he had patches and speckles of color over his normal skin. Sometimes his hair was black; sometimes purple and fluffy. Sometimes his eyes were entirely gold; sometimes they just glowed in the dark, which was freaky every single time. Sometimes his hands were clawed; sometimes his nails were just long. The pointy Galra teeth, thankfully, only seemed to make an appearance when Keith was _pissed_. It was nice to have those terrifying fangs on their side, for once.

The truth was, they knew fuck-all about what was happening with Keith. Allura claimed she’d never even encountered a half-Galra human (half-human Galra?) before and so nobody had any idea what to expect. It would probably never become entirely normal just because new things kept happening. One day, Keith ate everything in the fridge without warning. Lance had no clue where he put it all, because the next few weeks he got even leaner and stronger, and when he took his shirt off for training Lance almost inhaled his tongue because _that was just not fair._ Even Shiro looked surprised. Then Keith started fighting…differently. It wasn’t super noticeable, but he got more aggressive, if that was even possible. Aggressive to the point of flat-out viciousness at times, to the point where he actually knocked Pidge unconscious and cut Lance’s arm during training. 

Lance might have been worried if Keith hadn’t turned into an absolutely horrified mother hen afterwards. The second Pidge didn’t get up, Keith was on the ground with them, eyes wide and voice panicked as he called for help. And when Lance hissed and clutched at his bleeding arm, Keith had dropped his weapon and insisted on helping to bandage it up. He’d practically cradled Lance in his arms, like it was a mortal wound instead of a nasty scratch. Keith had never been so touchy-feely before, but Lance wasn’t exactly complaining.

And that was the thing. Or, more accurately, The Thing, because it was seriously messing with Lance’s head. Keith was handsy some days (well, handsy by Keith standards), and other days he wouldn’t go near anyone with a ten-foot pole. In short, he was acting really, really weird. That was part of The Thing. 

The other part of The Thing was that Lance really _wanted_ Keith to be handsy with him, which was even weirder. Like…he couldn’t explain it, but it was like suddenly he was seeing Keith in high-definition IMAX 3-D or something. And every time he got close to Keith he was just overwhelmed with…something. Affection? Frustration? Longing? A mixture of the three? Lance didn’t know what it was, but what he did know was that the dude smelled _incredible_. And that was almost weirder than the attraction to Keith, because teenage boys aren’t exactly known for being fragrant, especially when they’re fighting and soaked in sweat half the time. 

But Keith still smelled so fucking good. He smelled…warm. Like a campfire but without all the smoke. Lance couldn’t quite put his finger on it; he only knew that he found himself wanting to spend more and more time around Keith, which was confusing for both parties. But Lance had a feeling he wasn’t the only one – at least two crew members seemed to be near him at all times, and when Lance asked Hunk about it he started nodding enthusiastically.

“I thought I was the only one!” Hunk exclaimed. “It’s totally weird. I thought he must’ve been baking or something!”

“Baking?” Lance repeated, baffled.

“Yeah, y’know, since he smells like vanilla and cinnamon and…” Hunk trailed off at the expression on Lance’s face. “What?”

“Hey, Pidge!” Lance called. Pidge looked up irritably from the new Rover they were tinkering with. “Does Keith smell weird to you?”

Coran, who was cleaning up the remnants of dinner, paused, eying the three of them. Pidge turned pink and shifted a little in their chair. “I guess, if you think flowers are weird. Why?”

“He smells like _flowers_ to you?” Hunk glanced at Lance, comprehension dawning on his face. “Wait, what do you smell?”

Lance shrugged. “I dunno, but it’s not vanilla or flowers.”

Hunk frowned. “You think it’s some Galra thing?”

Pidge glowered at them both over their glasses, cheeks still pink. “Obviously. It’s Galra pheromones.”

Coran left hastily, almost breaking a plate on his way out. Lance’s eyes widened. “Pheromones…but aren’t those, like, for sex?”

Pidge slow-clapped. “Genius Lance strikes again.”

Lance made a face. “What?! Gross! I don’t want to smell that, somebody needs to tell Keith to cut it out –”

Pidge scowled at him. “Keith can’t just _cut it out_ , it doesn’t work like that. He can’t help it; he probably doesn’t even know he’s releasing pheromones. Besides, if Keith was a girl I doubt you’d be throwing such a fit about it.”

Lance huffed. “Whatever. Sorry if I don’t want to smell his freaky sex perfume.”

Pidge rolled their eyes. “If it’s any consolation, I doubt Keith wants _you_ to smell it either.”

Later that day, Hunk nudged him and said, “But I thought you liked Keith.”

Lance gawked at him. “No! He’s my arch-rival!”

Hunk blinked. “Uh…okay, but you still have a crush on him, right?”

Lance spluttered. “Wha – why would you even _think_ that, Hunk?!”

“You’re not really subtle, Lance,” Hunk told him, patting his shoulder. “You spend half your time on the training deck staring at him.”

“With boiling jealousy!” Lance protested. “I’m just trying to memorize his fighting patterns so I can finally beat him someday!”

Hunk patted his shoulder again. “Okay, bro, if you say so.” He did not sound convinced.

Lance felt betrayed. “It’s the truth! Keith is the worst, with his stupid sword and his excessive muscles and dumb face and snarky comments and weird smell and –” Hunk was giving him a knowing look. Lance gave up. “Quiznak,” he whispered. “I have a crush on a Galra.”

Hunk grinned lopsidedly at him. “Nah,” he said. “You just have a crush on Keith.”

*

Keith was having a very strange day. 

They’d taken a break from fighting Zarkon to broker peace and write up alliances on the huge planet Everren, which was inhabited by an intelligent humanoid species called Sylphe. The Sylphe were determined to stay free of Galra rule, and welcomed Voltron’s help and protection with open arms. Princess Allura had gladly accepted their invitation to stay in the Viridian Palace for the duration of the negotiations, and the Empress Velline had insisted that they were guests of honor there for as long as they liked.

Keith had a suspicion that Allura had agreed to stay because Everren reminded her of Altea, and the Sylphe were not dissimilar to Alteans in overall appearance. Sylphe had pointed ears (albeit much longer and pointer than Allura’s) and markings on their faces, usually spots or stripes of some kind. Their hair was also colorful like Alteans – some had Allura’s silver locks, others had Coran’s ginger hair, and there were plenty of pinks, greens, yellows, and blues too. They were very intelligent and could speak the Common tongue with ease, though they had developed their own systems of writing and language long ago.

But in other ways the Sylphe were very unlike Alteans. They were an arboreal catlike people with flexible tails and opposable thumbs on both hands and feet, which enabled them to dash through treetops as deftly as monkeys. Their eyes were slitted and, like a feline, their pupils dilated with changes in light. They disliked staying on the ground for too long, and had built most of their cities and villages high in the treetops of the heavily forested planet. 

And there was one other thing – they were very, very sexually promiscuous. 

The Empress herself had received them in her throne room with another Sylphe in her lap, and only dismissed him after seeing the blatantly horrified expressions of her visitors. “Ah, my apologies,” she said, smiling serenely at them while adjusting her skirts. “We often forget the sensitivities of foreign visitors to our…public displays. Please, do not be offended by our openness. We are simply a species that values bonding and intimacy.”

Allura had smiled back, only slightly strained. “Of course, Empress, we understand, and thank you again for your hospitality.”

“Call me Velline, please, dear Allura,” the Empress had replied, scanning the team with sharp green eyes. They’d rested on Keith, unblinking. “You did not tell me you counted a half-Galra among your friends.”

A ripple of surprise had gone through the team – Keith had taken great pains to hide his Galra side before visiting the Empress, and the only evidence of it was a slight purple tinge to his hair and a few violet freckles on his hands and cheeks. Yet she had known what he was immediately. 

Shiro had stepped up to his defense. “Keith pilots the Red Lion of Voltron. He is a loyal and invaluable member of our team, regardless of his species, and Zarkon is his enemy as much as he is yours –”

The Empress had raised a hand, stopping him from continuing. “Peace, paladin. I trust your judgment, and sense no malice in him. I only wished to convey my curiosity. We have seen so few of your kind here, but when we do it is always…exciting.” 

Keith had not quite liked her tone. He’d narrowed his eyes at her. “You’ve received other visiting half-Galras here?”

Her lips had quirked. “Received, yes. That is a good way to put it.” She waved a hand. “They’ve long since gone their own ways, I’m afraid. But you are welcome here, as they were.” She inclined her head. “You all are.”

That had been the start of the strangeness. After that first audience they’d been shown to their chambers, which were surprisingly spacious, carved right out of the trunk of the massive tree that made up the towering Palace. Each paladin had their own little collection of rooms – a bedroom, a cozy antechamber, and a washroom. Keith’s was spacious and surprisingly lavish for a tree; he even had a window and a balcony overlooking the rest of the city. The only downside was that his room was adjacent to Lance’s, but it was a small price to pay for such luxury. 

That first night, Keith had slept better than he had in ages. There was something undeniably comforting about going to bed on a lush tropical planet instead of in the lonely void of space. Maybe that was why he fell into such a deep slumber, and why, for the first time in a long time, he dreamed – not a blurry, confusing mess of images, but a clear, vivid scene playing out in his head…so vivid that he remembered it in the morning when he awoke blearily, soaked in sweat and achingly hard in his pajama pants.

The dream had been about Lance. Lance, completely naked, on his hands and knees, arching his back obscenely into Keith’s cock as he fucked him, one hand yanking his short brown hair back viciously, the other digging bruises into his skinny hip. _You’re going to come on just my cock,_ Keith had told him in the dream, in a voice too dark and sultry to be his own. And just like that, Lance had come with a whimper, his own cock untouched. 

Keith stared at the dark green canopy of his bed. “What the fuck,” he whispered to it. He dug his nails into the sheets, trying to get a grip on the urgent throbbing of his dick without actually, well, getting a grip on it. He closed his eyes and counted to ten. 

The fabric ripped. Keith’s eyes snapped open and he stared with dismay at the claws curling wickedly from his fingertips, shredding the fragile sheets easily. The purple spots on his hands were growing, too, spreading up his arms, and he felt the tell-tale tickle of his ears growing, and then – Keith froze. The familiar sensation of arousal was still there, but there was something else, too. Something not right.

Keith kicked back the sheets and half-ripped his way out of the pants, staring at his cock curving up against his taut belly. His eyes widened. It was growing longer, and as he watched, his cock began to thicken too, past the point of what was normal. It seemed to stop, and then Keith was gasping in pained pleasure as the base continued to thicken into a vaguely round, swollen knob just above his balls. His breath shallowed. This was not normal. Not…not human normal, anyway. But as the purple blotching continued to spread down his body and over his enlarged cock, Keith started to realize this might be Galra normal.

He swore again, gritting his teeth and urging his claws to dull down with frustration that only added to the tight twisting sensation in his gut, a kind of desperate urgency he had never experienced before. After an excruciating minute, Keith had his dull human nails back and wrapped his hand around his cock with a groan that felt ripped out of him. His thumb slid over the head and it was _wet_ , shockingly slick already, and Keith could feel his cock jump against his palm, so large now that he doubted he could cover it with both hands.

And the knob at the base was swelling with every stroke of his hand, pressure verging on too much, so sensitive to the touch it made him whimper. Keith squeezed his eyes shut and bit the inside of his cheek to stifle all his other overwhelmed noises. It was still early; he doubted Lance was up yet and he did _not_ need Keith’s moaning as his alarm clock. 

At the thought of Lance his cock twitched again, and Keith panted, hitching his hips up to fuck his fist. He tried to banish the image of Lance bent over for him from his head, but he was fighting a losing battle, and besides – it might help to speed things up a little. Just thinking about the dream made Keith shudder and groan, helpless to his desire as, a few tics later, he spilled hotly over his stomach and chest with a defeated gasp. 

There was a lot of come. No, really – a _lot_ , so much that some actually hit his chin, which was ridiculous. And it seemed…different than usual. Keith didn’t study his own come or anything, but this time it was definitely thicker when he dragged his finger through it, wrinkling his nose at the texture. And it smelled…salty. Really salty, like a huge whiff of seawater. That was concerning. 

Also, there was the fact that he’d just masturbated while thinking of _Lance_. None of these things were good. Possibly his dick was broken.

Or…not, because no sooner had his afterglow ended, it started hardening again in earnest. Keith stared at it. Okay, yes, he was a teenage boy, but that was _impossible_. It hadn’t even been thirty tics! 

“I am not jerking off again,” Keith told it. “I have things to do.”

This did not deter his cock one bit, and he ended up having to jerk off not once, not twice, but three times before it finally calmed down enough for him to stuff it into his pants. He was still hard, but he wouldn’t be poking anyone’s eye out, and managed to find a Sylphaen tunic in his closet that went down to mid-thigh. It would have to work while he figured out what the fuck was happening to him. Keith already had several ideas and he didn’t like any of them. In the meantime…he just had to hold it together. Deep breaths. Ignore it. Internalize. Keith was good at internalizing.

With a shaky exhale, he left the room.

*

Breakfast was bearable at first, but Keith was itching all over and it made him irritable. He snapped at Hunk without meaning to and almost ripped the tablecloth with his claws when the idle chatter around him peaked. Shiro, who was sitting next to him, gave him a worried look, but Keith just shook his head and kept his hands under the table, silently panicking. 

Lance tried to talk to him once and Keith almost knocked over his drink. Lance peered at him from across the table. “Hey, you don’t look so good,” Lance told him. “Did you sleep at all?”

Keith’s claws cut into his own palm. _Control yourself._ “What’s it to you?” he snapped, sharper than he meant. 

Lance frowned at him. “No need to get feisty, bat boy.” He pointed to his ears and Keith flushed, realizing his Galra ears were making an appearance. Thankfully Lance stopped talking to him after that. 

But Shiro just kept looking at him, and when he reached over and put a hand on Keith’s arm, he literally had to grip the arms of his chair to stop himself from lunging at Shiro, which was definitely an urge he’d never had before. Keith must have made a sound, maybe a hiss, because Shiro immediately let go.

“Keith,” Shiro whispered, “is everything alright?”

 _No, it’s not, my dick is twice its usual size and I came four times in a row this morning and my skin feels like it doesn’t fit right and I can’t control the Galra transformation anymore and, oh, I sort of have the urge to fuck everyone in the vicinity, especially Lance._

Keith stood up abruptly, his chair screeching across the wooden floor. “I just need – some air,” he muttered, and with that he turned on his heel and walked away as fast as he could, which was pretty fast considering he was so hard that he was almost limping.

He didn’t notice the Empress watching him go, a knowing gleam in her eyes as she dismissed herself from the table.

*

Keith stumbled out onto the nearest balcony, which was more of a secluded garden terrace. The fresh air did help to clear his head a little, but it did nothing to quell his body’s ache. His knees felt wobbly as he leaned back against the wall, wrapping his arms around himself. He had always assured the others that he was in control of his Galra side; they thought he would never hurt them; they trusted him. But for a moment back there, Keith had almost lost that fragile control. He didn’t know what this sudden urge was, exactly, but he did know that it was visceral and dangerous and he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back for much longer. He had to…he had to restrain himself, or somehow tell the others he wasn’t safe before –

“Ah, there you are.” The Empress Velline emerged from the swaying ferns, mere feet away.

Keith went utterly still, pressed to the wall as closely as possible, trying to ground himself. He had never been attracted to females, but as she approached he realized with horror that this urge inside him did not seem to care. “Stay back,” he pleaded, shuffling away from her. 

Velline tilted her head, shiny black braid falling over her shoulder. “You are nineteen, yes? Then this is your first heat.”

Keith gulped. “I don’t –”

“You are scared,” she said, still calm, still coming closer. “You feel as if you need to mount everyone in sight.”

Keith turned scarlet. “H-How do you…”

Velline smirked. “Do not worry. This is normal for a Galra’s first heat.”

Keith needed her to take about three giant steps back, and even then he wasn’t sure she would be safe. But the talking was distracting, and he would take any distraction he could get. “How long does it last?” he asked, dreading the answer.

She chuckled. “Twelve cycles, or in Earth days, two weeks.”

Keith sucked in a harsh breath. He was going to _die_. “And if I don’t...?”

Velline’s mouth twisted. “If you attempt to resist the urge to mate, you will soon go into a very dangerous state known as a blood fever. In short, you will lose control of yourself.”

Fear pounded through him almost as strong as the desire. “I don’t want to hurt anyone,” he gasped, curling in on himself. “I don’t want to hurt my friends –”

“Shhh,” Velline murmured, and then she was _right there_ , and her hands were on his face and Keith almost sobbed. “Just let go, paladin. My court ladies and I will take care of you –”

Keith realized what was happening in slow motion; his brain was sluggish, muddled with terror and arousal and revulsion. “No,” he choked out, twisting away, “no, stop, get off of me –”

Velline clicked her tongue. “Tsk, tsk, I’m doing you a favor. None of the other half-Galras had any complaints, trust me.”

Keith lashed out blindly, trying to shove her away, but she had a firm grip on his biceps and his body wouldn’t quite obey his mind’s commands. “Please –”

“Hey! He told you to get off of him!”

Lance’s voice cut through the air like a knife, and Keith’s heart thudded frantically as the Empress slowly stepped away, turning to face Lance coolly. He was standing where she had been moments earlier, bewilderment clear on his face as he looked at the Empress. Then his gaze fell on Keith and his eyes widened. Keith shrank back. “Keith? What’s going on?” Lance glared at the Empress. “What did you do to him?!”

The Empress sighed and shook her head. “ _I_ did nothing. I see now he has the assistance he requires.” She eyed Lance critically, pursing her lips. “A bit scrawny, but I suppose he doesn’t care at this point.” She glanced back at Keith as she walked away. “Have fun.”

Before Keith could warn him, Lance was jogging up to him. “Dude,” he said, “what was that? She was, like, all over you, and not gonna lie, I’m kinda jealous, but you look seriously scared –”

According to Velline, Keith had two choices – give in, or hurt someone. It wasn’t much of a choice at all, but he wasn’t about to tackle Lance to the ground and take what he wanted right then and there. So instead he looked into Lance’s confused blue eyes and said, miserably, “I’m really sorry about this,” and kissed him.

“Mmph?” Lance said. Keith groaned into his mouth and tugged him closer, and then, to his relief, Lance’s lips started moving against his own, hesitant but willing, and his hand moved up to cup Keith’s jaw and it was so _good_ that Keith almost fell over, dragging Lance to the wall and reversing their positions until Lance was the one crushed against it, pinned between his body and the wood paneling.

Lance broke the kiss too soon, gasping for air and staring at Keith. “Holy fuck, dude,” he said in a small voice, and Keith didn’t understand until Lance’s hips nudged at his, and Keith realized Lance could now not only see but feel his never-ending erection. Keith opened his mouth to apologize, to tell Lance that he should really find some sturdy rope right about now, or maybe push him over the balcony, but then Lance bit his lip and looked at him through his lashes and all rational thought was gone.

“I need to kiss you again,” Keith said roughly, fumbling at Lance’s clothes like an afterthought. Lance’s hands were fluttering uselessly at his sides. “I want to touch you. I need to –”

Lance made a strangled sound and clutched at his tunic, eyes huge. “Keith – wait –”

Keith shuddered and pressed his face into Lance’s throat, nuzzling at his pulse and letting Lance’s scent fill his head; clean cotton and fruity soap. It calmed him down a little, enough that he was able to resist biting the delicate skin there as hard as he could, marking it as his own. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he panted, rubbing himself off helplessly against Lance.

“Hey, shh, no, look at me,” Lance whispered, and with effort Keith dragged his head up until they were eye-to-eye again. Lance’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes were still wide with surprise but he didn’t look upset. Freaked out, maybe, and stunned, but not angry. Lance swallowed and Keith’s eyes followed the motion hungrily. “You’re okay,” Lance said. “It’s okay, just – tell me what’s going on.”

Keith tried to explain, but the sentences came out shaky and fragmented. “Apparently Galras…go into heat – like dogs and cats, but…” Keith ducked his head down. “Everything hurts, _aches_ , it’s getting worse, and,” he let out a hiccupping breath. “If – if I resist it much longer I’ll lose myself and people will get hurt, _you’ll_ get hurt.”

Lance was still holding on to the front of his shirt. “Quiznak,” he breathed. “Why didn’t you – why didn’t you say something earlier?”

Keith huffed out a choked laugh against Lance’s neck. “Yeah, just announce to the whole table that I felt like bending over the nearest person and fucking them into oblivion. Why didn’t I do that?”

Lance sagged a little against him. “ _Oh,_ ” he said weakly. “And you, um, still feel like that?”

Keith couldn’t quite figure out the tone of his voice. He blinked. “Yes, but –” Keith paused, sniffing again at Lance’s throat. Lance’s scent had changed, and suddenly it hit him. Lance was, unmistakably and irrevocably, turned on. Keith’s grip on the back of Lance’s neck tightened, both of their breath shallowing as Keith pressed his thigh against Lance’s cock, half-hard in his jeans. “You want me to fuck you,” Keith said, shocked. 

Lance clung to him. “What, you thought I was gonna let you suffer through this pon farr stuff alone?” He grinned, but it was wobbly.

Keith didn’t know what pon farr was, and didn’t care. “You want me to fuck you,” he repeated, more firmly, and for a moment his voice almost sounded like it had in the dream. 

It made Lance shudder. “Not here – your room or mine –”

“Mine,” Keith practically snarled, half-yanking him away from the wall. “Yes, fuck, _fuck_ , Lance, I need you, need to be inside you –”

Lance tripped over his own feet, and Keith could smell the arousal pouring off of him in waves. “Okay, okay, I’m coming, Jesus, Keith, cool your jets –”

Keith growled and dragged him off. His jets were on fire.

*

They barely made it. 

As soon as the door closed behind them Keith slammed Lance up against it, so close to snapping that his claws came out as he fumbled with Lance’s shirt, and then the whole thing was shredded, hanging off of his skinny frame in ribbons that Keith impatiently ripped away. Lance gaped at him. Keith sucked on his neck contritely, and judging from the way Lance arched up into it, he was more than forgiven. Keith managed to will the claws away to unzip Lance’s jeans, but then Lance was gasping and grabbing his wrists, and Keith smelled a spike of fear in his scent that made him draw back at once. 

Lance’s eyes darted away nervously. “I just…thought you should know that I’ve never actually, uh. Done this before.”

Keith tilted his head. “Gotten fucked?”

Lance chewed his lip. “Fucked in general,” he admitted. 

Keith blinked, incredulous. “Wait. You’re a _virgin_?”

Lance scowled. “You don’t have to be such a dick about it –”

“No, I just – you flirt with practically everyone we meet! You’re always acting like some kind of womanizer.”

Lance’s cheeks flamed. “Yeah, well, somehow nobody ever wanted a piece of this.” Keith didn’t need Galra ears to hear the self-deprecation in his voice. It made his chest twinge oddly. 

“I do,” Keith said. 

Lance still refused to look at him. “Dude, you’d probably fuck a cactus if it got close enough right now.”

Keith scrunched up his face. “Believe it or not, I prefer you to a cactus,” he retorted. Lance snorted. Keith touched his face lightly. “I prefer you to the rest of the team, too,” Keith added, and Lance did look up at that, surprised. 

“Hmph. You’re just trying to sweet-talk me so you can get on with it,” Lance said, but he sounded unsure.

Keith’s hand dipped lightly under Lance’s waistband, and he felt the way Lance jumped a little, still anxious. “I don’t care that you’re a virgin,” he mumbled into Lance’s jawline. “It’s kind of hot, actually.” ‘Kind of hot’ did not even begin to describe the way the Galra part of his brain was absolutely _howling_ at the thought of being Lance’s first, the first to fuck him, the first to make him come. 

Lance squirmed, breathing growing heavy as Keith’s hand wormed its way into his underwear. “That’s…not as comforting as you think it is, bat boy – _ah!_ ” Lance yelped. “Oh my god, you’re touching my dick.”

“Mm-hm,” Keith agreed, fingers curling around the length of him loosely, not really jerking him off, just feeling him up. His cock was hot velvet in Keith’s hand, damp at the head and a pleasing weight as his hips stuttered forward. Keith’s cock throbbed with every push of Lance against him, and Lance wasn’t quite _relaxed_ but his head had fallen back against the door and his mouth was open and he was so _hot_ ; Keith was fucking salivating just looking at the slender curve of his neck, the plush ‘o’ of his lips, the way his lashes fluttered against his cheekbones, long and dark. Keith fisted his cock with purpose and Lance gasped. “You look so good,” Keith told him. Lance’s eyes half-opened, dazed. “So good,” Keith repeated, unable to stop talking now that he’d started. “I want you so bad, gonna make you feel so good, until you’re begging for more, you’re gonna look so pretty on my cock –”

“Oh my god,” Lance whispered. “Galras are _kinky._ ”

Keith couldn’t argue with that. So instead he bit Lance’s collarbone and asked, “Can I suck you off?”

Lance acted like Keith had just electrocuted him. “W-wha – don’t you just want to fuck me?”

Keith sucked a bruise where he’d bitten. “I want to make you come first,” he said. “I’ll fuck you eventually.”

“O-okay, I guess?” Lance said, and yet seemed entirely unprepared for Keith to drop to his knees and start unzipping his jeans eagerly. “Wait – right here? Against the door, where anyone could hear us –”

“Yeah,” Keith said, and then, once he’d gotten Lance’s jeans and underwear down and off, “ _yeah._ ”

Lance was staring down at him, mouth hanging open, hands flailing at his sides before flattening against the door. Keith nosed at the place where his body met his thigh and inhaled deeply, smelling Lance’s arousal again, but stronger here, more concentrated, turned up to the nth degree. It was intoxicating, and his tongue flicked out to taste and that was even better. 

It wasn’t like Keith had never given a blowjob before (he most definitely had), but this was…different. Different because of the heat, yes, but also because it was Lance, and everything Keith did would be completely new to him. Nobody else had touched him like this before. _Mine_ , Keith thought nonsensically.

He laved his tongue against the base of Lance’s cock and Lance’s head thudded back against the door, shaking the whole thing. Normally Keith might be concerned about being heard, but now the thought just made him grin wolfishly before swallowing Lance down, ripping a cry from the Blue Paladin. Keith sank down further enthusiastically, until his nose met Lance’s pubic bone and his throat was constricting around the tip as he started to bob his head. Lance thrust forward uncontrollably and Keith almost choked, tears pricking at his eyes, but he could’ve cared less. 

Lance was saying his name, or at least some garbled variation of it, thighs trembling under Keith’s palm. He was so hot on Keith’s tongue, and Keith could _feel_ the blood rushing just beneath the surface of that delicate velvet skin. He could feel the heaviness of Lance’s balls, too, when he cupped them with his free hand, squeezing until Lance moaned, cock twitching in his mouth. And all around him was that smell, male musk and sweat and _Lance_ , and the urgency inside Keith eased suddenly, replaced by the need to savor this, to draw it out until Lance really was begging for whatever Keith would give him.

He drew back a little, lavishing Lance’s cock with long, tender sucks around the tip, hollowing his cheeks and stroking at where his mouth didn’t reach, then at his balls again, and then behind, letting one finger slip lightly over Lance’s hole, furled and tight. Lance tensed, but Keith just kept circling it, never pushing in, and felt the tension leave him slowly, replaced by only pleasure. Lance was loud, of course he was, he never shut up normally – but Keith loved every single sound, loved that he could not only feel but hear Lance coming apart. 

It didn’t take very long before Lance was grabbing at his head, gasping, “I – I’m going to –” and coming in spurts into Keith’s mouth. Keith had never particularly enjoyed the taste of come, but he found he didn’t mind it at all this time, swallowing it down greedily as Lance slumped against the door. 

When he pulled off, he licked Lance’s softening cock clean until Lance was pawing clumsily at his face, oversensitive. Keith got to his feet, pleased to see Lance looked even more dazed than before, barely able to stand. But Keith still hadn’t gotten off, and wasted no time in kissing Lance soundly, crushing their bodies together, grinding his unbearably swollen cock against Lance’s spent one. Lance whined but Keith gave him no quarter, dragging him away from the door and towards the bed.

If Lance was resisting he wasn’t doing a very good job of it, and he landed on the bed with a little bounce when Keith pushed him. Keith took a moment to admire how ridiculous he looked; naked from the waist down with his shirt rucked up around his hips, staring at Keith with something like apprehension. 

Lance licked his lips and said, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure we both need to be naked for this to work.”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “You first.”

“Why, you shy or something?” Lance retorted, but he took his shirt off, curling his knees up to his bare chest in an unexpectedly and ironically shy gesture. 

“No,” Keith said, stripping his tunic off, not breaking eye contact. “I’m really, really not.” He unbuttoned his pants, letting them slide off his hips as his cock was finally freed. He did not miss the way Lance’s eyes widened comically, nor the way he gulped. 

“Um,” Lance stammered, “is it – usually like that?”

“Like what?” Keith said innocently, sidling towards him.

“Big,” Lance blurted, flushing. “I mean, I-I don’t know how that’s going to…fit.” He gulped again, and flinched when Keith crawled onto the bed with him. 

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Keith murmured, managing to soften his tone though the primal instincts were coming back full force. “Lance. Calm down.”

Lance peered at him owlishly from over his knees. “What? I’m calm. Mr. Calm, over here. What makes you think I’m not –”

Keith grabbed his wrist and guided Lance’s hand to his cock. Lance squeaked. “It’s not going to bite you,” Keith said with exasperation. “I might, though.” Lance glanced at him, brows drawn together, and tentatively let his hand settle on the base, just above the knob. Keith’s head dropped forward with a relieved sigh, and Lance blinked, fingers curling around its girth as far as they could.

“It’s sort of purple,” he commented, sounding almost fascinated as his hand slid up the length of it. He reached the tip and definitely sounded fascinated when he said, “It’s…wet. Like, really wet. Dude, I think your dick is, uh, self-lubricating.” Lance hesitated, then swiped a finger over the slickness and brought it to his lips, licking it off. “What the…it tastes _good_. Like strawberries.” Lance blinked. “Did mine taste like strawberries?”

Keith tried to tell himself that patience was a virtue and fought the awful impulse to shove Lance onto his back and fuck his mouth. “Whoa,” Lance breathed, “your, uh, ears are doing the thing again. And your eyes and your skin and – oh.”

Keith looked down at his clawed, purple hands, desire momentarily replaced by shame. His body was betraying him yet again. Having a Galra cock was one thing; being in full Galra form was another entirely. Desperately, he closed his eyes, trying to focus; to change back before Lance was scared off for good –

“So soft,” Lance mused. Keith’s eyes snapped open, startled. Lance was…petting him, hand moving gently over his ears and hair. And his other hand was still absently stroking Keith’s cock, undeterred by the fact that he was now in bed with a creature hated by most of the universe. Lance saw Keith’s expression and smiled smugly. “What? You’re cute, bat boy.”

Keith bared his teeth and _there_ , Lance faltered. Keith let his fangs extend and leaned close to Lance’s face, razor-sharp canines inches from his parted lips. “Cute,” he hissed. “You think this is cute?”

Lance tipped his chin up defiantly. “It’s adorable.” His hands were still in Keith’s hair, thumbs rubbing just behind his ears, which made Keith actually want to _purr_ , and that was unacceptable. He snarled and grabbed both of Lance’s wrists, pinning them to the pillows above his head with one clawed hand and rolling on top of him, delighting in the way Lance bucked and struggled against him. Keith glowered down at him, unyielding. 

“Take it back,” Keith demanded.

“Make me,” Lance said.

Keith shifted until their cocks were aligned, ignoring Lance’s needy whine, and leaned down, tracing Lance’s face with a single claw. Lance stopped breathing. “Be careful what you wish for,” Keith crooned, claw sliding across his mouth, pressing it into his lower lip until a drop of blood beaded up. “I could rip you apart.”

In reply, Lance tilted his head to the side, baring his neck in utter submission. 

Keith growled and, overwhelmed with the need to mark him, placed his mouth over that smooth brown skin and sucked as hard as he dared. His teeth grazed flesh and Lance shuddered, pulse thundering in Keith’s ears, arousal cresting as his cock hardened between them again. Keith applied more pressure, claw drawing more blood from Lance’s lips, fangs seconds from piercing through vital veins.

“ _Please_ …”

Lance’s voice brought him back from the brink and he lifted his head, admiring the huge red bruise he’d left in his wake, high enough that Lance couldn’t hide it under his shirt. And then his claws receded, blood smudging Keith’s thumb when he swiped it over the thin cut, the scent of iron sharp between them. Lance’s eyes were wild, fixed on Keith.

“Please _what_?” Keith asked, leaning over him, or perhaps looming was a better word. He expected more defiance, but instead Lance just moaned and spread his legs. Keith swore vehemently, and as soon as his fangs retracted, he kissed Lance soundly, the other entirely pliant against him, his mouth tasting strongly of strawberries. 

Lance was making little sounds, and when Keith pulled back he pleaded, “Let me go, I’ll be good, I just wanna touch you, let me touch you,” and Keith couldn’t refuse that, releasing his wrists hastily and kissing him again as Lance’s arms wrapped frantically around him, nails digging into his back.

Keith nipped at the cut on his lip, the taste of blood spurring him on almost as much as Lance’s legs hooking around his waist. “Lance, I need to –”

“Do it,” Lance gasped, “fuck me, fuck me, want you to, now –”

But Keith pulled back, groaning, pushing aside the need to flip Lance over and _mount_. He’d meant what he said – he wasn’t going to hurt Lance, if at all possible, which meant some preparation was required. Lance started to sit up on his elbows, impatient, but Keith nudged him back down, settling between his legs. 

“Keith,” Lance whined. “I know I’m gorgeous but now is not the time to contemplate my beauty!”

“Shut up,” Keith said mildly, and this time when his finger circled Lance’s hole the reaction was much better. His hips jolted up and his cock rose to full hardness, hands grabbing at the sheets and legs spreading wider. Keith hummed, satisfied, and looked down at his own cock, considering what Lance had said about it. Since they were in a Sylphaen palace, there was probably lube somewhere nearby, but why go searching when his cock was getting slicker by the second? 

He took himself in hand, letting the apparently strawberry-flavored fluid pool in his palm. When he had what he hoped was enough, he spread it messily over his fingers and said, “Tell me how this feels,” before pressing one finger inside Lance without further preamble. 

Lance squirmed, stomach muscles clenching and unclenching. “Weird,” he said unsteadily. “But not…not bad weird.” There was a pause. “Add another one?” Keith complied, twisting both fingers firmly, taken aback by how tight Lance was around them. He pushed them deeper, and crooked them blindly against what he hoped was the right spot.

Lance’s moan echoed obscenely through the room. “ _Yes_ ,” he chanted, “more, _yes_ , that, _that_.”

There was only so much of this that Keith could take. But he gritted his teeth and added another, opening Lance up with three digits, and…wait. If Keith wasn’t somehow incredibly mistaken, he was pretty sure the makeshift lube was _making Lance wet._

Obviously lube tended to do that, but Lance also felt somehow tighter and hotter and slicker around his fingers…and from the way Lance was reacting it was like he was in heat too, literally begging to be fucked, all previous apprehension gone. Keith stared at his sticky hand. He didn’t know _what_ was in it, but it definitely wasn’t strawberries. 

And he wasn’t about to try to figure it out. Instead, he took Lance’s legs and hefted them up over his shoulders, shoving a pillow under Lance’s ass as an afterthought and lining up. Before he could even ask, Lance was chanting _yes_ again frantically, so Keith wasted no time in doing what he’d been dying to all day and fucked into Lance with one firm thrust, filling him completely.

Lance made an inhuman noise halfway between a sob and a scream.

Keith, panting, peered down at him, stilling his hips though he wanted nothing more than to drive himself deeper into that perfect tight heat. “Did I hurt –”

“Nooo, nooo,” Lance gasped, twisting under him, grabbing a handful of Keith’s hair. “Just, wait, it’s – you’re _so big_ …”

That should’ve sounded like a bad line from a porno, but instead it was just incredibly hot. Keith nodded and kissed him, aiming for comforting, but the kiss quickly turned filthy, teeth clashing, and soon he couldn’t stop himself from moving, though he forced himself to keep it slow as Lance quietly lost his mind.

It was interesting how he’d been so talkative earlier, but now all he could do was make tiny, broken sounds, half-formed words that might have been pleas or curses or both. Keith was entranced by his expression, which warred between pained and pleasured as Keith deepened his thrusts, tugging Lance’s hips up higher for better leverage. Lance was still hard as a rock between them, though, so it must not have hurt that much.

Then Lance started speaking Spanish. Well, moaning Spanish, but either way it made Keith groan and fuck him harder. He was pretty sure that was what Lance was asking for anyway. He kept saying _dámelo_ and _más, más_ , clutching at Keith’s neck and hips, hands slipping down to palm Keith’s ass and force him deeper. Keith was so far past taking it slow, hips hitching faster and faster against Lance, the sound of skin on skin almost louder than the sounds falling helplessly from their mouths. 

Keith angled himself in a new way and Lance cried out, fingers twisting savagely in Keith’s hair and biting into Keith’s ass. Keith snarled and kept him pinned, thrusting relentlessly against that spot until Lance was writhing, desperate for release. 

“Touch me, touch me,” Lance was begging, cock leaking in wet stripes against their stomachs, the head pushing insistently into Keith’s hip on every downwards thrust. He was close. 

It was then that Keith remembered the dream, and it hit him like a punch to the gut. He wrenched Lance’s head back, and hissed, “You’re going to come on just my cock.”

And Lance did, mouth opening in a silent scream as he spilled between them in a messy rush, whining low in his throat and tightening around Keith, viselike. Keith bit at the juncture of Lance’s neck and shoulder and followed him over the edge, sucking another bruise into Lance’s skin as his cock pounded through it, through his own come that just made Lance even slicker, trickling out on his inner thighs and the sheets. But the urgency did not leave Keith, and his cock was still thick and aching for more, so he kept going. 

Lance squirmed and gasped and _he was still hard_ , mewling as Keith sat back on his heels and fucked Lance on his knees, the bed creaking alarmingly as Lance arched into it, come-covered cock bobbing darkly against his belly. Lance’s eyes were wide. “Por dios,” he babbled, “how – Keith, I’m still – it’s not enough –”

Keith pushed in as deep as he could, up to the flared knob at the base of his cock, which had somehow widened even further. He kept himself there, letting Lance feel the whole length of him, watching the way Lance quivered, a red flush spreading down his lean body, chest heaving as he sucked in frantic breaths. Keith narrowed his eyes and took Lance’s cock in hand, pumping it in rhythm with his hips as he started to move again, slow and deep. 

“Still not enough for you?” Keith retorted, and Lance actually _whimpered_ , a tiny, vulnerable sound that even gave the Galra part of him pause. He covered Lance’s body with his own again, lowering Lance’s trembling legs so that they rested on the bed. The Blue Paladin was clearly overwhelmed, eyes falling shut when Keith nuzzled at his neck, kissing the bruises and smoothing his hand soothingly down Lance’s side. “You’re so good,” Keith murmured, kissing his ear. Lance shivered, burying his face into the pillows. “Perfect, taking my cock like you were made for it, I could fuck you forever.” 

Lance’s cock jerked in his hand and then he was coming again, mouth opening eagerly as Keith kissed him through it, tongue soft and lazy. He pulled back and Lance exhaled, sprawled out on the sheets wantonly, face the definition of ecstasy. Keith could see his dick stirring again, slower this time but definitely still onboard with the steady movements of Keith’s cock. 

Keith couldn’t stop touching him, not just his dick but his thighs and his ass and his stomach and his chest, marveling at how skinny Lance was so much stronger than he looked, muscles shifting under bronze skin, tendons standing out in his neck and hand clenching hard in Keith’s hair when Keith made him come a third time. 

Keith came again soon after, filling Lance nearly to the brim. He pulled back until only the tip of his cock was inside, and come dripped out in his wake, shockingly white on Lance’s brown thighs and ass. Lance wriggled in displeasure at the loss and pressed Keith back in with his legs, eliciting moans from them both. 

“That all you got, bat boy?” Lance taunted, nails scraping down Keith’s back. His voice was weak and uneven but Keith growled and rose to the challenge, bending down and exploring Lance’s body with his mouth, sucking one of his taut nipples and feeling Lance’s heel dig sharply into his lower back, spine bowing. Keith nipped at the pink nub and Lance shouted, slow intimacy lost to the sting of Keith’s teeth and the wild buck of Lance’s hips. Keith didn’t know how long they’d been going and he didn’t care. 

The sunlight streaming in from his bedroom window cast Lance’s body in a gold radiance, and he was so beautiful as Keith fucked him, head thrown back and cock sliding slickly through his long fingers. Keith told him so and Lance laughed, disbelieving, which made Keith angry for some reason. “You are,” Keith insisted fiercely, nails turning half-claw, sliding through Lance’s short hair and digging into his scalp, leaving faint red lines behind. “So fucking pretty, Lance.”

Lance swore vehemently at him in Spanish and Keith shut him up with his cock, which proved to be very effective. Lance looked best like this, he decided, needy and flushed under him, mouth red and shiny from kissing. If Keith had been more capable of rational thought, he might have been worried he was hurting Lance because he was pretty sure he’d never fucked anyone this hard, and definitely never this long; but Lance’s pained expression was long gone, and Keith’s cock moved so slickly in him. Keith couldn’t remember fucking ever being so smooth, so easy, so _good_.

Lance’s body offered no resistance, even when Keith’s cock started pulsing a third time…but this time was different.

Lance’s eyes widened as Keith’s cock grew inside of him, not lengthening but _swelling_ , and Keith stared helplessly at Lance’s hole, stretched nearly to the limit, leaking come and clenching around him involuntarily. Then, struck by some instinct, his gaze fell to his own cock, to the knob at the base which was throbbing, wider than the rest of his cock and twice as sensitive. Inside Lance, he convulsed powerfully. Lance made a choked noise that could have been his name.

Keith’s hands held his hips in a bruising grip. “Lance,” he panted, “Lance, please, I need to –”

Lance nodded hastily, as desperate as he was. “Yeah, fuck, Keith, _do it_ –”

Without any conscious thought at all, Keith shoved forward with all his strength, forcing the knob inside of him, and Lance _keened_ , clawing at the sheets and Keith’s skin as Keith ground his cock in and came harder than he ever had in his life, gathering Lance close and inhaling his scent, kissing every bit of skin he could reach, purring with approval when Lance came again, whimpering into his neck. 

Keith came for what felt like a long time, and when he regained control of himself, he was sprawled over Lance, still balls deep. He tried to pull out and they winced in tandem – the flared base of his cock wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

Lance, absurdly, giggled. “Heh,” he said. “You’re stuck.”

Keith bit his earlobe lightly. “For now,” he mumbled, and peered down at him. “Are you…okay?” 

Lance blinked back at him, slow and totally blissed-out. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “It’s so good, buddy.”

Keith’s brow furrowed, eyes narrowing in disbelief. “Did you just call me ‘buddy.’ Seriously.”

“Yup,” Lance moaned, stretching and arching his back a little, trying to pull Keith closer, which at this point wasn’t really possible.

“My _dick_ is in your _ass_ and you just called me _buddy._ ” Keith’s voice was getting higher. “I think we’re well past the ‘buddy’ stage!”

“Dude, chill,” Lance said, reaching up and petting clumsily at Keith’s Galra ears, which flicked irritably. “You smell…so good. _Coño_ , Keith, that’s not fair –” He tried to tug Keith down to kiss him and gave up halfway, arms flailing midair before flopping back down to the bed.

“You are so high right now,” Keith grumbled. “And I’m pretty sure neither of us smell good.”

(That was a lie. To his Galra senses, the heavy musk of sex permeating the room was amazing. But to anyone in their right mind it would be disgusting.)

“High on sex,” Lance sighed, shooting Keith the dopiest smile he’d ever seen. “Is that a thing?” Keith grunted and tucked his face into Lance’s hair. Lance patted his arm clumsily. “Man, you must be wiped. I think I came like, a thousand times.”

“Five,” Keith corrected, shifting experimentally backwards. Lance hissed and he stilled. Then Keith cracked an eye open. “Are you getting hard again?”

“Oh,” Lance said, like it was a surprise to him too. “Yeah. Huh.” He poked Keith in the ribs. “Can we try to make it to six?”

Keith groaned and sunk his teeth into Lance’s shoulder. 

“Ow! Is that a yes?”

Keith lifted himself up on his elbows with effort and was relieved to find that his cock had softened enough to pull out. When he did, though, both of them sighed and it felt like a loss, somehow. Keith flopped off of Lance and onto his back, spent. “I don’t think I can go again,” he admitted, throwing an arm over his face. Lance pouted. Keith glared at him. “Five times,” he repeated. “And I gave you a blowjob.”

Lance was quiet for a minute. Then he said, “Maybe if I gave you a blowjob too?”

Keith squinted at him. “Are you deaf? I’m too tired to fuck you –”

“No, no, you don’t have to do anything,” Lance said earnestly. “I’ll ride you. You can just lay there. It’ll be great.”

Keith opened his mouth, then closed it. He couldn’t really see a downside to that plan. “Fine,” he said. “Whatever.” He tried to sound disinterested but his cock perked up at thought of Lance astride it. Lance noticed, and climbed over him, settling between his thighs and touching his cock like he had before, hesitant but curious. It was fairly large even when mostly soft, and still slick. Still alien, too.

“This bump,” Lance murmured, tapping the knob and making Keith shudder. “That was why you were stuck?” He rubbed it thoughtfully.

Keith’s toes curled. Fuck, that felt really good. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Guess so.”

“I think it’s a knot,” Lance continued, cheeks pink. He glanced at Keith. “You know, like dogs?” Keith stared at him blankly. Lance blushed further. “Male dogs, uh, have a knot on their dick like this so that when they mate they can, uh. Keep it all in there.”

Keith kept staring at him. “…Lance, how the fuck do you know that?”

“Animal Planet had some weird shit, okay!” Lance shot back. “Leave me alone.” Keith rolled his eyes and lay there for several more moments of pleasant fondling before Lance started talking again and ruined it. “Except I don’t think male dogs go into heat, so I guess this is a little different. But you definitely kept it all in there, I’m gonna be washing my ass out for weeks –”

“Are you going to suck my dick or just keep saying gross things?”

Lance sniffed. “There is nothing gross about post-coital hygiene, Keith.” But Keith counted it as a win because Lance shuffled closer, using the pillow to prop Keith’s hips up this time, and licked a stripe up the side of his cock. “Still tastes like strawberries,” he said, and wrinkled his nose. “Salty strawberries.”

“Planning to slobber all over it?” Keith asked. “Run with the dog theme?”

“No,” Lance snapped, before taking a deep breath and wrapping his lips around the tip determinedly and sinking down. He choked halfway, pulling off and coughing, embarrassed. “Sorry –”

Keith frowned, feeling a little bad. “Hey.” He lifted his hand and cupped Lance’s face, his skin warm to the touch. “It’s okay.” Lance blinked at him softly, and nuzzled into Keith’s palm. “Just…go slow. You can just lick it if you want to.” He swallowed thickly. His head felt fuzzy, and it was hard to focus on much of anything with Lance looking at him like that. “It feels good.”

“Tell me,” Lance whispered. “Tell me what you like.”

Keith nodded, settling back against the pillows and sighing when Lance took ahold of the base, firmer than before, and started laving wet kisses over the tip, tentative but gaining confidence when Keith murmured his assent and let his hand card through Lance’s hair. Keith’s vision was hazy, just like the muted pleasure of Lance’s warm mouth on him, mapping out the length of his cock with licks and sucking kisses. Lance reached the knot and closed his lips over it, lapping gently, sending pleasure prickling up Keith’s spine and making it swell again. “Yes,” Keith murmured, “like that, good boy.”

Lance groaned against his cock and sucked on the tip again, not trying to go down but working his hands over the rest of it. Keith knew Lance could feel him hardening, not from the Galra heat but from the careful attentions Lance was giving him, and Keith could feel his Galra features receding as his cock rose to full attention. It was shiny with saliva and the natural lube, which was oozing down the sides, beading up at the glistening head where Lance licked it away delicately. Then he swung a leg over Keith’s hips.

Keith opened his eyes fully. He wasn’t going to miss seeing Lance sit on his cock. “Okay,” Lance said, biting his lip and positioning himself. Keith didn’t move a muscle, except to arch an eyebrow and rake his gaze down Lance’s body. Lance’s dick was red and wet, bobbing against his belly as he shuffled forward and, guiding the tip of Keith’s cock back to his hole, sank down on it. 

Lance was so loose and slick that Keith’s cock was practically sucked in, and Lance moaned like it was the best thing he’d ever felt, rising up on his knees and back down again, one hand braced on Keith’s thigh and the other tight on his own cock. Keith gazed at him, more than a little stunned, especially when Lance started to move his hips, undulating sinfully on Keith’s cock like he was putting on a show, eyes hooded as he looked down at Keith, lips parted invitingly. His lithe body was shining with sweat and splattered with come, drying on his stomach and wet between his legs. 

Lance’s gaze was unfocused and dark, his movements beginning to stutter as he neared his peak, breaths coming out in sharp staccato _ah’s_.

Keith slid a hand up Lance’s side and Lance’s skin broke out in goose bumps where he touched him. “Go ahead,” he urged.

But Lance resisted, shaking his head and bearing down on Keith’s cock insistently. “Knot me,” he said, red-faced. “I wanna feel you.”

 _You’re going to feel me tomorrow,_ Keith thought with a hint of guilt. But it wasn’t enough guilt to refuse that offer, and besides – the thought of Lance not being able to sit down for the next week without thinking of him was very, very satisfying.

“Up,” Keith ordered, and Lance lifted, Keith’s cock sliding out of him wetly, throbbing to the point of pain. Lance thumbed the knot and Keith swore, exhaustion forgotten in favor of claiming him again. Keith sat up and Lance fell backwards, confused. “Over,” Keith barked, pushing at Lance’s back, “turn over, on your stomach –”

Lance moaned in understanding and scrambled onto his hands and knees facing the end of the bed, and Keith was derailed by the sight of Lance’s ass _right there_ , and yeah, maybe it wasn’t much to look at when he was standing, but like this? Fuck. And then Lance widened his legs just enough for Keith to see his hole between his cheeks, pink and puffy like his mouth and overflowing with come. Keith had never had the desire to lick anyone’s asshole before, for obvious reasons, but he was struck by it then, and could not stop himself from spreading Lance’s cheeks and dragging his tongue over it, wrenching a shout from the Blue Paladin’s throat. He did it again, and again, cock hanging heavy between his legs as Lance’s voice broke on another cry, and all Keith could think was _mine, mine, mine._

The same mantra pounded through his head as he pounded into Lance one last time, and the second his knot entered they were both _gone_. Lance came explosively over his own knuckles and Keith fucked him through it, teeth finding the nape of Lance’s neck and holding him in place, listening to Lance’s little whimpers and moans with pride. “Good boy,” he said again, purred into Lance’s ear, and Lance absolutely collapsed under him, a boneless mess on the bed. 

When Keith came back to himself he was curled securely around Lance, spooning him while still buried inside. Lance snuggled back against him, a content little smile on his face, eyes closed. Keith closed his eyes too, the wave of fatigue catching up to him all at once, and he barely managed to pull the sheets over them before falling (or rather, crashing) asleep. 

*

Keith woke up hours later, disoriented and warm and very, very sore. Oh, and with Lance sleeping half on him, naked, and drooling all over his chest. When he saw Lance, the panic started to set in as the events of earlier came tumbling back to him.

Lance was…a mess, really, there was no other word for it. His hair was a bird’s nest, sticking up every which way. He had dried blood smeared across his lips and chin, and various other bodily fluids all over the rest of him, interspersed by occasional bruises and scratches which Keith didn’t even remember making. Keith couldn’t even bring himself to look at where Lance was the messiest. 

Oh, this was bad. This was so bad. 

He tried to extricate himself slowly so as not to disturb Lance, but the moment he moved away, Lance snuffled sleepily and made grabby hands for him, eyes blinking open blearily. “Where’re you goin’?” he slurred, throwing a lanky arm over Keith’s waist. 

Keith forced his mouth into what he hoped was close to a smile while edging away. “I was just…going to get a bath started. You must be, um. Pretty sore.”

Lance blinked, brow furrowing. He started to sit up. “I’m totally fi – _fuck_.” His face screwed up in discomfort and Keith stumbled off the bed and away, guilt twisting in his throat like a live thing, choking him with panic and shame. Lance lay back down gingerly, oblivious to Keith’s horror. “A bath sounds awesome,” he mumbled. 

“Right, then, I’ll go do that,” Keith said in one breath, and high-tailed it to the bathroom, grabbing his pants on the way. The door shut with a click and Keith yanked on the pants and put his head in his hands, heart pounding. Lance. Of all people, it had to be gangly, annoying, immature, straight, virginal, _Lance_ who got caught in the crossfire of his freaky alien sex drive. Keith leaned against the wall, cursing Velline, cursing Lance, cursing his dick, cursing himself for letting this happen. 

He’d never really liked the idea of ‘taking someone’s virginity’; it was a stupid societal construct, but that didn’t change the fact that he _had_ taken Lance’s, in one fell swoop, and Lance had been barely lucid for most of it. 

Hell, he wasn’t even sure Lance had consented! He could’ve been drugged on crazy Galra juju long before getting a taste of the damn strawberry flavored pre-cum, which was, Keith realized in hindsight, probably laced with the Galra version of ketamine. It made sense, in a twisted kind of way – Galras had evolved with the desire to have willing partners, able to keep up with their heat-induced libido…

“Did you fall in?” Lance called from the bedroom. Keith started, remembering he was supposed to be turning on the water. 

“No, just, um, a problem with the pipes, but it’s working now!”

“Great, because I have a problem with my pipes if you know what I mean, so hurry it up, bat boy!”

Keith winced and turned on the spigot so forcefully he almost broke it. Luckily the pipes were fine, and the bathtub began to fill quickly with water. It was made of a pale green stone, and was large enough for two –

Furious with himself, Keith pushed the thought away. Two weeks, Velline had said. Two weeks of this torture. The need to fuck everything in sight was gone, and that was a relief, but his mind still went all fuzzy and peaceful when he thought of Lance. Right before he was filled with all-consuming guilt, anyway. Keith resisted hitting his head against the wall and poured in a bottle of what he hoped was soap. The water turned blue and bubbly, and when Keith stuck his finger in it was warm and didn’t make his skin fall off, so he figured it was fine. 

He went back out to Lance, who looked like he’d tried to get out of bed and failed. He was lying on the floor, limbs splayed awkwardly. It was terribly endearing. Keith bit his tongue. “Can you stand?” he asked, not wanting to get any closer than necessary. He’d done enough damage.

Lance huffed, glaring half-heartedly at him. “’Course I can, don’t flatter yourself,” he snapped, scrabbling for the edge of the bed and hefting himself unsteadily onto his feet. He swayed, legs wobbling, and Keith was forced to grab his arm before he toppled over, his skin crawling everywhere they touched. Lance slumped into him gratefully, knees wobbly, tripping over his own feet like an adorable baby deer or something. 

Keith bit his tongue again. _Stop._

They managed to make it to the bathtub in one piece, and as soon as Lance saw the steamy water he moaned. “Fuccckkk, this was such a good idea, Keith, you’re a genius.” Ignoring how Lance’s dramatic sounds of pleasure made his dick react totally inappropriately, Keith all but pushed him into the bath and turned on his heel, making a beeline for the door.

Lance caught his wrist. Heart in his throat, Keith glanced back at him. “You’re…not getting in with me?” Lance asked, brow creasing. 

Quiznak, was he still drugged? Keith frowned. “I’ll take a bath later,” he replied, strained. “Right now, I just. Need to sleep.”

“Oh,” Lance said in a small voice. “Okay, cool. Um. Thanks for letting me use your bathtub.”

Keith wanted to be anywhere but here. “Yeah. Sure. Lock the door on your way out, alright?”

“On my way…” Lance’s expression shifted, unmistakably, to _hurt_. “Oh. Got it.” He tried for a smile, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “I really tired you out, huh?”

“Yes,” Keith said, clipped, not looking at him. “Enjoy your bath.”

“Sleep tight, bat boy.”

Keith shut the door.

*

Keith did sleep, but it was fitful and unpleasant and he awoke with a start when Lance left the room, his chest feeling hollow, as if something had been torn from it. He slept even worse after that, but he couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed and face Lance again, so he suffered through the feverish dreams and the ache in his chest until the sunlight streaming in was gone and the room was dark.

Even then he lingered in the bed, the utterly filthy bed which reeked of sex, but also reeked of _Lance_ , and that was why he delayed the inevitable removal of the ruined, stained sheets. Keith knew it was creepy and pathetic but he clung to that single remnant of Lance for as long as he could, inhaling his now-familiar scent until he finally got a grip and practically leapt out of bed, ripping the sheets off angrily, realizing too late that his claws had decided to join the pity party and the sheets were now extra-ruined. 

Keith stood there in the middle of the tangled mound of sheets. He couldn’t stay in here forever, or he might actually go mad. No. He needed to…to talk to someone.  


He needed to talk to Shiro.

*

By the time he’d bathed and made himself look presentable (read: like he hadn’t just had an entire day of sex), it was late. Later than Keith had previously thought, judging by the entirely empty dining room and training area. He still snuck around, peeking around corners cautiously, fully prepared to bolt at the slightest whiff of Lance, but it seemed everyone had retired for the night. Everyone except for several Sylphe couples in various states of undress who had decided to take advantage of the empty halls, and did nothing to quell the itch under Keith’s skin as he stalked past them, receiving more than a few wide-eyed stares. 

Shiro’s room was, of fucking course, the farthest away from his own, and by the time he reached it his muscles were very unhappy with him. Marathon sex had a plethora of unfortunate consequences, apparently. He took a moment to compose himself as best he could before knocking on Shiro’s door.

“It’s Keith,” he said.

“Oh! Come in,” Shiro called, sounding cheerful and therefore unaware of why Keith had ditched him at breakfast. Well…at least that meant the Empress was keeping it under wraps. Small mercies. 

Keith opened the door, standing awkwardly on the threshold as it closed behind him. Shiro had gotten ahold of a punching bag, somehow, and was making full use of it, pausing briefly when he saw Keith. “Hey, good to see you,” Shiro said warmly, settling into another fighting stance. “Empress Velline said you got really sick this morning, but it looks like you’re better now, huh? I told her you were a tough kid.” 

“Shiro, I fucked up,” Keith blurted, wringing his hands. 

Shiro paused mid-punch, shooting him a quizzical look. “What? What happened?”

“I think,” Keith whispered, “I think I accidentally roofied Lance. With my dick.”

Shiro stopped punching, and folded his arms, brow lowering. “Keith…”

And then the whole story was spilling from Keith’s lips, minus many, many details that Shiro did not ever, ever need to know. Once he’d started talking he couldn’t stop, and by the time he was finished he was drained and humiliated and couldn’t look Shiro in the eye. He was also ninety percent sure he’d grown a pair of Galra ears and several purple splotches over the course of the explanation, which probably wasn’t winning him any Shiro-points. 

Keith hated looking like a Galra in front of Shiro – it was common knowledge that Shiro had been held prisoner by the Galras. Shiro was scarred for life from the trials and experiments they’d forced him to endure, both mentally and physically, and Keith knew that it was hard for Shiro to see a friend wearing the face of those who had hurt him. 

But Shiro didn’t sound angry when he said, “It wasn’t your fault.”

Keith glanced up, taken aback. “Did…did you even listen to what I said? I –”

Shiro cut him off gently. “Keith, I heard you. You regret what you did. You wouldn’t have done it if you were in your right mind. Correct?”

Keith hunched his shoulders. “Of course I wouldn’t have! But I did it, and –”

“Let’s sit down,” Shiro sighed, and went to the small sofa in the room. Keith followed numbly, sitting next to him and stiffening when Shiro touched his shoulder. “Keith, you’re always beating yourself up. You know that? And sometimes that’s a good thing, like in training, when in helps you improve. But you can’t beat yourself up over this.”

“Shiro, I hurt him,” Keith whispered miserably. “I – I could have locked myself in my room, or gotten someone to tie me up, or…or…”

“It wouldn’t have worked,” Shiro said quietly. Keith looked up at the seriousness in his tone. “I don’t…I don’t remember everything from my…time with the Galras. But I do remember when a Galra soldier went into heat, once.” He shook his head. “Even the other Galras were afraid of him – I didn’t know what was happening then, but I think he went into that blood fever state the Empress described to you. He had tried to resist it, and it drove him to insanity. He was out of control, and the other soldiers fought back but the prisoners were tied up, easy prey…”

Keith tensed, horrified. “Shiro – did he – did you –”

Shiro squeezed his shoulder. “No, they sedated him long before he got to me. But before that…he got to at least three people, maybe more. I don’t even remember most of it, but there was a lot of screaming, a lot of blood. He killed two of them. I think the Galras had the soldier disposed of after that, because I never saw him again.” 

“I’m sorry,” Keith said, not knowing what else to possibly say.

“No, that’s –” Shiro sighed again, heavily. “Listen, Keith. What I’m trying to tell you is that it may not seem like it but I think you did the right thing.” Keith stared at him, incredulous. “Or, okay, the best thing possible given the situation,” Shiro amended. “The Galra at least had the advantage of knowing what was going on. You didn’t. And yet you still managed to do a far better job of dealing with it.”

“But I –”

“Did you go into the blood fever state?”

“No, but –”

“Did you force yourself on a random stranger without explanation?”

“No, just –”

“Did you kill Lance?”

“What? No!”

“Did you permanently maim him?”

“I – I don’t think so –”

“Did he ever tell you to stop?”

“He…no. But he was drugged –”

Shiro raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Was he drugged when you first kissed him and told him what was happening?”

“No,” Keith muttered. “But he didn’t even know what he was agreeing to. And…and maybe he was still influenced by me somehow, I don’t know how this Galra thing works!”

“Well, I don’t think it works like that,” Shiro said dryly. “For example, I was sitting next to you at breakfast and I can assure you I didn’t feel at all influenced by you. I was concerned that you were going to break your fork in half, yes, but I wasn’t swooning into your arms.”

Keith made a face. “Shiro, I think your willpower against swooning is a bit stronger than Lance’s.”

Shiro took a deep breath, and looked as if he was trying to muster up the last of his patience. “Alright. If you really think that you wrongfully coerced Lance into this, the only way to know the truth is to talk to him, Keith.”

“I don’t think I can do that,” Keith said, pained. 

Shiro gave him a hard look. “Take your time if you need to, but remember that we can’t let anything come between the team that’ll affect Voltron. And you shouldn’t let this come between you two anyway – especially if you’re wrong, and it was actually great bonding time.”

“Bonding time,” Keith repeated flatly. 

“I know I’m not the only one who would be thrilled to see you getting along with Lance for once,” Shiro pointed out. “Besides…I don’t think Galra heat is a one-time thing. Maybe next time he can –”

“Oh, no,” Keith said. “No, Shiro, you were supposed to _help_ , not encourage my bad decisions!”

Shiro shook his head fondly. “It wasn’t a bad decision, Keith. I’m happy for you. Lance really looks up to you, you know. He –”

“Probably hates me now, if he didn’t already!” Keith finished, getting up from the couch and stomping away from him, agitated.

“I highly doubt he hates you –”

“He should!” Keith snapped. 

Shiro pressed his fingers into his temple and prayed for strength. “Keith. Talk to him,” he gritted out. “Or I will personally lock you both in a closet for an extended period of time until you make nice.”

Keith threw up his hands and left the room. Shiro could damn well try, but Keith wasn’t going to get close enough to Lance for any closet-locking, much less talking, to happen.

*

If Keith had thought the first day of heat was difficult, the rest of the first week was absolute torture. It was a different kind of torture – though his cock remained Galra-esque and he had plenty of wet dreams, he didn’t really jerk off more than usual and he didn’t stay hard for hours on end. No, the problem was that he was physically in _pain_ , and at first he thought it was just sore muscles but as the days passed it became apparent that it was a different kind of ache. A lonely kind of ache. And his mind had decided, against Keith’s will, that Lance was the one to fill that ache.

Keith had never been in a relationship, so he had no experience with post-breakup depression, but that was the only thing he could think of that even came close to describing his misery. He lay awake at night unable to think of anything except Lance, and not even necessarily in a sexual way, just…the way he laughed, the brightness of his eyes, the sound of his voice, the expression on his face when Keith had basically told him to get lost. He wanted to go back and beg Lance to stay, to climb into that bathtub with him and just hold him, to never ever let go…

Yeah, it was fucked up. And it just got worse when he saw Lance in person – try as he might Keith couldn’t sequester himself in his room all day, and so he avoided Lance like the plague instead. This meant avoiding most of the team too, except Pidge, who was usually off doing something on their own anyway. 

Mealtimes were the worst. Keith could sense Shiro’s disapproval as he sullenly picked at his plate, focusing on the smell of the food and not the smell of Lance, halfway down the table. Maybe Shiro had talked to Allura, too, because the princess actually pulled him aside one night to give him a talk about teamwork and communication. Keith barely paid attention because the whole time he could feel Lance’s gaze on him, cold and accusatory.

So Keith spent most of the day in the training area, fighting out his frustrations, sweating and stabbing and punching until exertion outweighed longing and he was tired enough to fall onto his (new) sheets and sleep deeply enough that he might not even remember the excruciating dreams. After five days of that he started to get too tired and achy to feasibly train for so long, and changed his path to the kitchens where he could drown his sorrows in food. That was what Pidge always did, during certain times of the month, and it did sort of work, temporarily. 

Keith just wished they had chocolate on Everren. The weirdly sweet black cubes he found in the icebox were not doing it for him. 

That was how Hunk found him on the sixth day, sitting on an isolated bench and chewing on substitute chocolate forlornly, Galra ears drooping. 

“Hey!” Hunk said, and it sounded like he was trying to be intimidating, but wasn’t really putting his heart into it.

Keith swallowed and set down his bowl of cubes. “What,” he said, even though he already knew. Hunk was Lance’s best friend, and if Hunk was the type for violence, Keith would be preparing to get his ass kicked. As it was, he prepared for a verbal ass kicking instead, one which he fully deserved.

But instead Hunk wavered, and said, “Lance is really messed up.” 

Keith blinked and looked up, dropping his cube. “He…what?” A million nightmarish scenarios flickered through his head. “What’s wrong with him?”

Hunk wrung his hands frantically. “He won’t eat because he gets sick and he barely sleeps and he has these constant migraines and he seems like he has heartburn all the time and never wants to get out of bed and I think he’s _dying_ , and he won’t tell me what happened but he said it had to do with you!” Hunk looked at him, genuinely terrified. “Did you poison Lance?!”

“No!” Keith objected, because if he was going to get called out it should at least be for the right offense. 

Keith thought Hunk might burst into tears at any moment. “Then what did you do?! Because whatever it was, I think you broke him! He hasn’t made a bad pun for days and doesn’t even try to flirt with Allura or the Sylphe maids anymore.”

Something possessive bubbled up in Keith at that; he shoved it down. “I…I don’t know why he’s like that,” Keith answered honestly. “I’m sorry. I…” He hesitated, debating the pros and cons of telling Hunk. Lance hadn’t told him, and Lance told him everything. Besides…Hunk might actually die of mortification. So he settled on, “I might have accidentally hurt him, but I didn’t mean to, and I know that doesn’t make it right but I am sorry, and I understand if he…hates me.”

Hunk’s face unexpectedly split into a grin. “I knew you cared! I told Lance I was going to talk to you and he said you wouldn’t care but you _do_.”

Keith’s chest constricted. “He…he thinks I don’t _care_? About him?”

Hunk nodded solemnly. “Listen, uh – Lance would kill me if he knew I told you this, but…he cares about you. Like, a lot. Like he’s been majorly crushing on you ever since you took on Zarkon.” Hunk exhaled as if a weight had been taken off his chest. “Whew, there, finally said it!”

Oh, _no_. Keith blanched. “Lance has a _crush_ on _me_?!”

“Shh, shh, not so loud!” Hunk cautioned, though the only life forms that could possibly overhear them were some four-eyed monkeys in the neighboring tree. 

“But he’s – I thought he only liked –”

“Girls?” Hunk cleared his throat. “I mean, yeah, he does, but he also likes you. Congrats?”

Keith did not know what to do with this news. “Fuck,” he said simply. 

“He’s not that bad,” Hunk said, offended for Lance. “You could do way worse!”

Hunk, sadly, did not understand the gravity of the situation. Keith stood up. “I am so sorry,” he said. “Please tell Lance I’m sorry.”

“Why can’t you just tell him yourself?” Hunk asked, confused. Keith started walking away. “Keith! Where are you going?!”

“To figure this out,” Keith muttered, and started towards the royal wing of the palace. 

*

Lance _liked_ him.

Keith still couldn’t believe it, and yet the more he thought about it, the more it unfortunately started to make sense – it would explain Lance’s weird rivalry obsession, anyway. And that just made him feel about ten times worse. Because…meaningless sex was one thing, but sex with someone who had _feelings_ for him? And not just any sex but intense alien-heat-fueled-sex, and it had been Lance’s _first time_ , and Keith had _knotted him in the ass twice and called him a good boy_ , and Lance had a crush on him _the whole time._

Of course that crush had probably gone up in smoke by now, Keith thought bitterly, now that Lance knew what a shitty person he was.

The royal wing was bigger than Keith had expected, but he followed the faint traces of Empress Velline’s scent as best he could, cloying perfume muddling the air. The halls were more spacious and extravagantly decorated here, lined with strange plants and colorful birdlike creatures in gilded cages. They chattered at Keith as he passed, and covered the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind until the new scent made him whirl around to face the stranger.

Keith stared. Standing a few paces from him was another half-Galra, an adult female with Sylphaen features instead of human ones. She blinked at him with luminous hazel eyes, curls of frizzy violet hair nearly covering her large Galra ears. Her skin was dark, speckled with a lighter purple, and she wore Sylphaen clothing almost as fine as the Empress’s, her neck laden with necklaces strung with bright jewels. She looked…she looked like royalty.

“Ah,” she said, voice lilting, “it’s you. The stubborn one.” 

Keith eyed her warily. “Who are you?”

“My name is Silese,” she replied. “I am the Empress’s eldest daughter.”

Keith gaped at her, comprehension dawning on him. “Then – your father was –”

“A full-blooded Galra whom she helped through his heat. Yes.” Silese frowned at him. “As she offered to help you, yet you refused. My mother said you mated one of the other paladins instead, which is an interesting choice –”

Keith paused. “Wait,” he said, “hold up – _mated_?”

Silese raised an eyebrow. “I am assuming you knotted him? In which case, he is your mate now. You are bonded for life.” At Keith’s bewildered and distressed expression she blinked, nonplussed. “It should not be so surprising…surely you have felt the bond when he is near.”

“He – we haven’t spoken since –”

She looked alarmed. “You mated him and abandoned him?! That is cruel to the both of you – haven’t you felt the agony of his absence? I am certain he has, and will continue to do so until you go to him.”

Keith was sweating. “How do I un-mate him?” he pleaded. 

“You do not,” Silese snapped. “There is no such thing! Galras mate for life, and during each heat only a Galra’s mate can satisfy them. You may take on another mate, but it will not _un-mate_ the first one –”

“But I made a mistake!” Keith wailed. “Lance can’t be my mate; he hates me!”

Silese glared at him. “What did you _do_ to him?!”

“I – I drugged him, with that…” He flushed. “The strawberry thing. He couldn’t even consent...”

Silese’s anger faded. “Oh,” she said, shaking her head. “No, paladin, the _serek_ is not a drug. It does act as a stimulator to relax your partner and increase their stamina, but it does not take away free will.” She looked at him with pity. “Your mate does not hate you, paladin, but he might if you continue to let him suffer.”

“Quiznak,” Keith said. “I need to talk to him.”

Silese rolled her eyes. “Yes,” she said. “You do.”

*

Keith half-ran back to the guest wing, not sure whether he was feeling elation or panic or a mixture of both. On the one hand – hooray for consent! On the other hand – _fuck_ , accidental mating for life, with _Lance_.

But maybe…maybe that wasn’t so bad? Maybe Lance wasn’t so bad. Hunk was right – he could do way worse.

Keith was jolted out of his thoughts by a full-on collision with none other than Lance Espinosa himself.

“Ow –” Lance rubbed his jaw ruefully and then saw who he’d just walked into, eyes widening, then narrowing. “Oh,” he sneered, “it’s _you_. Did a top-notch job of avoiding me up until now, you jerk!”

“Lance –”

“No, don’t you _Lance_ me,” Lance snarled, and this time Keith was the one getting backed up against the wall, on the defensive. “You don’t get to – to pretend that nothing happened, that you didn’t rock my damn world and then throw me away to go find someone else to –”

“I didn’t find anyone else!” Keith exclaimed. “I didn’t – there’s nobody else, what, you think I just fuck anyone who gets close enough?!”

“Isn’t that exactly what you did with me?” Lance retorted, and Keith flinched. Lance sighed, deflating a little. “I know you couldn’t…stop yourself. It was just – I was there, and you needed…”

“I thought I drugged you,” Keith blurted. “That the Galra shit was…was messing with your head and making you think that you wanted it when really –”

Lance flushed. “You think I didn’t _want_ it?!” He flailed his hands around. “Dude! I came six times!”

Keith turned even redder. “I thought you hated me!”

“No!” Lance cried. “I think I’m gay for you!”

“Um,” Keith said. “Yeah, Hunk just…told me that.”

Lance yelped indignantly. “He did _what_?!”

“I’m sorry,” Keith said. “Lance, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that you…and it was your first time, and it was too much, and –”

Lance stared at him incredulously. “Why are you apologizing for the sex?!” he said _way too loudly_. “The sex was fantastic! What you should be apologizing for is making me feel like shit for the past week because for some reason it literally _hurts_ to stay away from you! How cliché is that?”

Keith winced. “Right, sorry, uh, about that…I accidentally made you my mate? For life?”

Lance, for once, was speechless. “How…” Then he blanched. “The knotting.”

“Yep,” Keith said miserably. “I didn’t know, I swear, if I knew I never would have done it!”

“Wow,” Lance muttered. “Never, huh? Jeez, Keith, tell me how you really feel.”

Keith looked at him, startled. “You’re…not mad?”

“Shit, man, I don’t know, are you gonna continue ignoring me until I die of rejection?”

Keith felt, suddenly, like he was going to burst into tears. He looked down. “I never meant to hurt you,” he said, voice wobbling.

“Oh my god,” Lance said. “Hey, no, wait, please don’t cry. I don’t ever know what to do when people cry.” He reached out, uncertain, and put a hand on Keith’s shoulder. The contact made them both shudder, and Keith sniffled, still hiding his face. 

“I hate this, y’know,” Keith mumbled. “Being half-Galra, I mean. Not knowing what’s going on with my own body, not being able to trust myself even around my friends, not knowing whose life I’m going to fuck up next –”

Lance shuffled closer. “You didn’t fuck up anyone’s life, Keith,” he said quietly. “And…and between you and me, I think the half-Galra thing is kind of cool.”

Keith sniffled again, unconvinced. “But I could have seriously injured –”

Lance touched his face and Keith shivered, glancing up. Lance offered him a little smile. “Listen, that heat thing…it was like you were following your instincts, right? Like, you couldn’t stop yourself from giving in to your deepest darkest desires or whatever?”

Keith chewed his lip. “I…I guess so, yeah.”

“Well, if that was you at your most uninhibited, then you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of,” Lance told him. “I mean, yeah, maybe you’re a little bossy and rough but you’re not a _bad_ guy, Keith. You’re right – you could’ve ripped me apart with your bare hands, easy. But you didn’t. There was never a point where I was…where I was afraid of you.”

Keith searched his gaze for a hint of mockery; there was none. “Even when I went full-Galra on you?”

Lance shrugged. “Even then. Like I said…I think it’s kinda cool.” He flicked one of Keith’s ears fondly. “Bat boy.”

Keith smiled despite himself. “You’re crazy,” he said, shaking his head. “You should probably be running away screaming right now.”

“I don’t want to run away from you anymore,” Lance said, and then his arms were around Keith and although Keith had never really had a home to go back to, he imagined this was what it would feel like. He hesitantly hugged Lance back, tucking his face against his shoulder and breathing him in. There was a new sweetness to his scent. Happiness. Lance was…happy. Here, in Keith’s arms, he was happy. Keith held him a little tighter. “Don’t run away again,” Lance whispered into his hair. 

“I won’t,” Keith said. He didn’t want to let go. “When…when Hunk talked to me, he said you…thought I didn’t care about you.” Lance was quiet. Keith could feel his heart pounding. He pulled back, and held Lance’s face in his hands. “Lance, I care about you.”

Lance flushed, eyes wide. “Aww,” he said. “You’re gay for me too?”

Keith let go of his face, rolling his eyes. “And the moment is ruined.”

Lance grinned. “You are! I knew it!”

“Lance, I’m not gay for _you_ , I’m just gay in general – mm.”

Lance kissed him soundly, lips as soft as Keith remembered them, bodies tangled in glorious union. He tugged Lance closer and Lance went easily, _willingly_ , and Keith could feel Lance’s smile against his own. He felt warm and tingly all over and this time, he was pretty sure it didn’t have anything to do with alien heat cycles. 

They were reluctant to separate – even when the kiss ended they stayed together, chest to chest, Lance’s breath feathering across Keith’s lips as he murmured, “I haven’t been able to think of anything but you. I thought something was wrong with me.”

“I’m sorry,” Keith said, guilty all over again. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you, either.”

“I know, I’m irresistible,” Lance smirked, then he saw the sorrow in Keith’s face and made a soft sound. “Hey. Don’t go all sad and broody on me, okay? We’re gonna figure this out, bat boy. You and me. We’re a team, aren’t we?”

Keith’s eyes felt wet again. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Yeah, we are.”

“Damn straight.” Lance snorted. “Or not.” He frowned. “Wait…if I’m your Galra mate, does that mean I can’t win over Allura’s heart anymore?”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Shiro got there way before you did, Lance.”

“ _What?_ ” Lance gasped. “Shiro and the Princess?!”

“It’s not official, so don’t go blabbing about it,” Keith warned.

Lance huffed, offended. “I would never!” He was quiet for a little while, and his hand on Keith’s chest curled slightly. “Um…are _we_ official?”

Keith eyed him. “Official? What, do you want matching T-shirts that say ‘Mates for Life’?”

Lance punched his arm. “No, you asshole. Like…are we just going to have a thing when you’re in heat or are we going to have a thing-thing?”

Keith furrowed his brow. “What is a thing-thing?”

Lance glared at him. “Do you want to be my boyfriend or not?!”

Keith blinked. “Oh.”

“‘Oh’?” Lance echoed, stepping back. “So, so you just want me for my body, is that it?”

“No,” Keith said. “No, I’ve just. I’ve never had a boyfriend.”

Lance looked at him suspiciously. “Never? Oh, c’mon, you’ve totally been with people before –”

“I’ve _hooked up_ , yeah, but I’ve never _dated_ ,” Keith said, uncomfortable. “Don’t look at me like that! There was just never – I never wanted to, and nobody was really leaping at the chance to date the weird orphan kid.”

“Well,” Lance said after a beat, “I want to. Date me.”

Keith felt off-balance, and strangely giddy. “I think you’re being influenced by the mate thing,” he said. “Maybe you’re not in your right mind, there could be alien hormones in the air, maybe my saliva is drugged –”

“Keith. I like you, and I want to date you. I want to get you flowers or chocolate or something sappy like that, and go out with you to see a space movie and fly around the galaxy in our Lions together. And, yeah, when my ass has fully recovered I’m so down with whatever you wanna do to it. And maybe I can do stuff to yours too. The possibilities are endless.” Lance was serious. He was serious, he wanted this, and Keith was breathless just looking at him, imagining it. A thing-thing. 

“Okay,” Keith said. “Let’s…let’s date.”

“Yeah?” Lance said, eyes lighting up. “Really?”

Keith nodded, shy. “I like you too.”

“Damn, you better, you licked my –”

Kissing Lance into silence was never going to get old.

When the kiss ended they were both giggling, and it was ridiculous, but Keith loved it. Lance pet his ears, and Keith didn’t even try to stop him. “I have a proposal for our first date,” Lance said. Keith tilted his head. “Sleeping for as long as possible before Shiro and Allura haul our asses out of bed. Deal?”

“Deal,” Keith agreed happily. 

_Mine,_ he thought as Lance took his hand. _Mine._

**Author's Note:**

> SWEET JESUS THE AMAZING @vitamin-bara ON TUMBLR MADE ART FOR THIS TRASH, PLEASE GIVE THEM LOVE AND CRY WITH ME PLEASE & THANK YOU: http://vitamin-bara.tumblr.com/post/149094919340/some-sketches-based-on-elfyechos-amazing


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